Dark angel
by planet p
Summary: The Doctor and Peri visit a village for a holiday, and strange occurances begin to happen to infringe upon their holiday.


**Dark a****ngel** by planet p

**Disclaimer** I don't own _Doctor Who_ or any of its characters.

**Author's Notes **Extremely lame. Written in 2006.

* * *

November 27 dawned cold and chill. Bitter winds swept the countryside and dark clouds hid the sun from view. Mist lay all about the station as Peri waited for the train to come in. The Doctor stood beside her, almost a head taller with a mop of grubby blonde curls and large brown eyes. Peri, in comparison was short and slim with a tanned complexion and long dark hair that fell about her shoulders in waves. She sniffed and pulled her red jacket closer about her chest. The Doctor was, as usual, dressed as though he had just escaped some travelling circus act. Peri stretched her arms out behind her, she hadn't slept well and was still tired.

The train arrived at 8.07. "About time too," Peri mumbled. The Doctor did not look across at her, and instead stepped up to board the train. Looking a bit grumpy, as she was left to carry her suitcase on her own, Peri followed him. She scowled. "I wanted the window seat!"

"Oh, will you look at that, I seem to have taken it. Sorry 'bout that, love, better luck next time. There's really no need to be like that, you get the aisle seat. How marvellous is that?" he tapped his fingers on the window, "So if you want to powder your face-"

Peri shook her head and dropped her suitcase by her feet with a heavy thud. "Forget it!" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. Why did he have to be so childish? "And you can give up on all those awful attempts at politeness. My name is Perpugilliam Brown! Not love, dear, child, earthling, and don't you even think of repulsive one!"

"Whatever you say Perpugilliam of the Brown."

"Brown! Oh, you're impossible, I wish you'd never changed."

The Doctor frowned and looked away from her, out the window.

* * *

Peri adjusted the hair clip in her hair irritably. England was so dratting cold! She rested her head on the back of the seat and soon fell asleep. When she awoke the Doctor was playing I Spy with a little girl sitting in front. "Ccc-camel?"

The little girl shook her head. "Nuh-uh."

The Doctor bit his bottom lip. "I know. I know. Cat?!" The girl shook her head again.

Peri took her head off the Doctor's shoulder. "Can I play?" The girl nodded. "Is it carriage?"

"Yep." She clapped.

Peri smiled. "My turn." She thought for a moment. "Two words: P and R."

"In that order?"

"Yes."

The Doctor frowned. "Purple…radish."

"No way."

"P-something railway?"

"No."

"Anything to do with railways?"

Peri shook her head. "No. Want a clue?" He nodded. "It's something I like."

"Now that helps! Excuse my obviously unsuccessful sarcasm. Peanut butter?"

"Nice try, but no."

"Persian rug?"

"What? No!" Peri burst into a fit of giggling. "Give up?"

"No," he frowned. "Yes."

"Papaver rhoes."

"Pardon?" She pointed to the red poppy in her hair. "That was completely mean! Anyway, you can't see that." He stuck his nose in the air.

"Can too." She waved a little mirror about.

"You cheated."

"Did not."

"Hmm! I don't care, I'm not playing with you again. I'll just play with Molly, at least she's not such a complete know-it-all."

Peri scowled and looked away from him. "I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Molly held a hand over her mouth to stiffle her giggling. "You two are silly." She went back to colouring in her colouring-book with pretty crayons.

The Doctor crossed his arms and stared determinately out the window. "Earth children, who needs them? Not me."

Peri sniffed. "Well I don't need you either. Big, bossy…geek!"

He spun around to face her. "I am not a geek!"

"Are too."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No! At least I don't love myself."

"Love myself? Love myself! Love my-"

"LOVE YOURSELF!"

"Hhhh! I refuse to buy into these childish games. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine – don't! In fact, shut up altogether, that stupid accent annoys me."

"You know what? I don't hate you anymore. Hate's too nice a word. And you know what else? I pity you. You and your superior intellect, you still don't have any manners. Turlough was more of a gentleman than you'll ever be!"

* * *

The station was quite deserted when they stepped off the train. Peri waved goodbye to Molly and set off for the village hotel. It was warm and cosy inside, with a roaring fire that Peri dashed over to, to warm her frozen fingers. The Doctor got them some rooms. Peri smiled politely and walked off past him, up the green-carpeted stairs to her room.

After lunch Peri decided to go for a walk, perhaps there was a shop where she could buy some gloves. Outside the cobbled streets were quite as deserted as when they had arrived. She stopped outside the post office, an open sign hung in the window; pushing the door open with a tinkle, she slipped inside. There were all sorts of souveniers, but no gloves. Peri sniffed, it was a very old building. She decided that it would look rude to barge in and not buy anything so she got an enamel brooch.

Her breath rose up ahead of her like the steam of a great steam engine. She pinned the brooch to her coat and continued up the street, towards the hill, there was an old cemetery that would be interesting to look at. She pulled the sleeves of her coat over her fingers. It was quite a long way but she didn't really matter. Tomorrow she would have a chance to look around the woods, she was going to have a guide, it was the botany that she was looking forward to.

* * *

The cemetery was quiet and windswept. Rocks crunched loudly under her boots and weeds scuttled about her ankles. The pines arched and swayed in the wind, whispering to each other. A large stone angel stood atop a large gravestone, her face upturned to the heavens. Peri stood for a while watching her, she was very pretty. Peri imagined that her youth was timeless, she would be forever young, day after day she would remain the same. Looking away from the angel Peri continued on up the winding path. Leaning a little closer to a headstone she sniffed: Katherine Gray – 2 years. She moved on to the next grave: Alexia Maxwell Fitzpatrick – 3 years. Filbert August Morrison – 15 months. There were so many children. Peri sniffed and wiped her watering eyes on her sleeve, but the chill wind still stung her dark eyes. It wasn't fair, all those poor, little, sad souls. Out of the corner of her eye a movement caught her eye. She looked up, there was nothing there. She frowned and turned full circle, there was nothing, but it had suddenly gone dark and shadowy. Peri cast her gaze upwards, it looked as if it might rain, she would have to be back at the hotel soon. She turned and headed back down the hill. As she passed the angel she squinted to read the name. Chanella Alekson – 14 years. "May your heart guide you to peace, may your spirit leave its earthly wanderings for the celestial mysteries of the heavens, may it be your next grand adventure – go in peace and happiness, our child, and remember our love will keep you warm no matter the storm that rages at your heels, rest in peace."

Peri's mind dwelled on all those poor children who had passed before their time. She pushed open the hotel door and stepped inside. The Doctor was sitting by the fire reading a book on thermo-dynamics. Peri sat down opposite him, but he didn't look up at her. She felt as stiff and frozen as Chanella's angel. When she had warmed up sufficiently she went to get a coffee. Nelly, the woman who served and seemed to heave a particular affection for Elvis Presley, smiled. Peri had spoken to her the night before and Nelly had helped arrange the tour guide for her. "Cold out there?"

"Cold, not half. I, um, went up to see the cemetery on the hill. It's sad all those children dying, I mean, some of them were just babies, but I guess it was disease."

The woman nodded. "Sure was. There is this old story that the village is cursed, but it's just silly, innit?"

"Cursed? Why? Did something happen?"

"Did you see the angel?"

"Yeah."

"That's Chanella. She drowned herself, dunno why. Eighty years ago. Anyway some of the oldies reckon that she takes the youngens when they're sleeping in their beds."

"Takes them?"

"Her ghost. They reckon she takes them cos she's lonely. I reckon it's just a load of- It's just talking the place up, seein' as all we do 'round here is tourism, it's what we live for."

"So this place is haunted?"

"It's just the oldies, strange faces in the glass, cries in the dark, all that kind of spooky crap."

"You don't believe it?"

"No way. It's crap, forget it."

"Did you know half of that cemetery is filled with children under four? You know that right, right up until the seventies?"

"We don't go there."

"What happened in the eighties? Why did the deaths suddenly stop?"

The woman shrugged. "It was when little Wyatt Henry died, third in the same month, they just upped and left, so it's just oldies now," she waved a hand about her head, "the loopy ones."

"So there is a curse?"

"Look, forget it. Is that so hard to do?"

"I'm just interested, that's all, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Good, cos I hate her!"

"Who, Chanella?"

"Channy, yes. She took my brother for God's sake!"

"Wyatt Henry?"

"Wyatt Henry. We were twins."

Peri shifted in her seat. "But you don't believe the stories."

"The stories are crap. I hate them. I hate them all, hate this stupid village! What's my name? Go on, ask me."

"Nelly, you're Nelly."

"Chanella! Chanella! They god-damn named me after that bitch."

Peri looked away. "Oh."

Nelly stormed off.

* * *

Peri sat back down by the fire. The Doctor had put his book down and was smiling oddly. Peri waved a hand in front of his face. "Nelly likes her little games, doesn't she? But I know her secret. I can tell you if you like?"

"No thank you."

"No? I don't like no. Is that really what you want?"

"It's none of my business and it's none of yours either!"

The Doctor stared into her eyes, her chest suddenly felt constricted, she could breathe. "Yes! Yes!" she gasped. "I want to know, I want to know the secret, tell me the secret."

The Doctor smiled. "I knew you could be persuaded. Nelly thinks she is so clever, thinks that I don't see, that I don't know, but I know everything, everything. Tell her she can't hide him from me, tell her I will come in the night and I will take him. Tell her we shall be together. Tell her that will you, little girl?"

"I will." Peri nodded, taking hacking breaths.

The Doctor stretched and rubbed his eyes. "Perpugilliam Brown, where have you been all day?" Peri blinked. "Don't look at me like that."

"You? You?"

"I what?"

"How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"You just said- Chanella, it was her."

"Who is Chanella?"

"A girl who died."

"And? Relevance to me?"

"You…she…possessed you, I think."

"Oh don't be ridiculous. Whoever's been telling you these ridiculous ghost stories they're probably just having a bit of fun, you know, scaring the visitors."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Don't be so childish. Do you always have to be so obviously gullible?"

Peri stood up. "Fine, if you don't believe me." She stormed off, her expression set into one of stubborn grumpiness. The Doctor shook his head.

* * *

It was late when Peri awoke, a strange scuffling seemed to be coming from one of the rooms. Peri switched on her red torch and rubbed her eyes. Her watch read three seventeen am. Her head hurt, she hoped she wasn't coming down with something. Carefully crossing the room to the door, taking particular care to avoid the squeaky floorboards, she pulled open the door. A faint light was coming from under the door of the Doctor's room. Peri shook her head, did he ever sleep? She stepped out into the hall. The noise was definitely coming from the Doctor's room. Peri pulled the door open and screamed. "Are you crazy?" The room was filled with candles and the walls and floor were adorned with pictures drawn in charcoal and pastel. Peri bent down and picked one of the pictures up. She threw it away. "Why are you doing this?"

The Doctor turned to her. "I think you know, little girl. You know what they did to me? You know they deserve to die. I tried to make them see, tried to make it plain to them, but still they pretend, still they lie. Now they need to die, all of them, starting with you!"

Peri backed against the door. "What are you talking about?"

The knife in his hand shone golden in the candle light. "DIE!" He lunged at her.

"Noooo! Doctor, you're scaring me. Stop it!"

The Doctor held the knife to her throat. "Hush, child, we don't want you waking the whole village. Hush, now."

"No. I want my Doctor! What have you done with him? Give him back! Doctor? DOCTOR?!" The Doctor grabbed her by the throat and hit her head into the wall.

"Shut up! Shut up! Be silent child."

She was choking. "Doctor, pleaseeee…" She slid down the wall.

The Doctor shook her. "Peri! Peri? Peri, I'm sorry. Peri, wake up."

Peri stared into his eyes. "Is it really you, Doctor?" she whispered.

"It's me, Peri. It's me. I've come back. I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Peri sobbed into her hands, tears leaking from between her fingers. He held out his arms. "Come into my arms." She hugged him.

* * *

6:32. Peri looked away from her watch, twilight was disappearing fast, the sun was almost up. "She's angry, isn't she?"

"Very angry. But why? You say Nelly told you she drowned herself?"

"That's right."

"But what aren't they telling? It's here, it's all here, it just needs to be told."

"You, um, she… mentioned something about a lie. Somebody lied about something and now they need to die."

The Doctor stared across at her. "Why do you think she killed herself?"

"Nelly didn't say."

"Don't you think we should ask?"

Peri stood up and pulled her red jacket over her jamys. "Let's go, before somebody does die."

The Doctor stood up also. "I really am sorry, Peri."

"I know. Just keep that in mind when we stop by the supermarket." She smiled.

* * *

"Nelly, this is really important, what are you hiding? She told us she knew, she said she would take him, she sounded serious."

Nelly sniffed. "I'm pregnant. There you know. Happy now?"

Peri shook her head. "You have to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere! This is my home. Not two-bit ghost bitch is gonna scare me away. This is my place, I belong here, my baby belongs here. She can just shove it where it fits. I won't leave. I'll never leave."

The Doctor shook his head, his brown eyes overlarge. "Listen to me Nelly, you've got to go, all of you. She's angry, really angry, and if you don't go, she'll kill you all, one by one."

"I'M NOT GOING ANY-DAMN-WHERE! You can forget it. I'm staying." And with that she left.

Peri turned to the Doctor. "There's just no talking to her. You heard her, she won't go."

"Then we've no choice. Peri get some warm things on, we've got a secret to uncover."

Peri nodded.

* * *

The Doctor sniffed. "We need to find out all we can about this girl. How old was she again?"

"Fourteen." Peri spoke to the cold, grey dawn. "She had her whole life ahead of her… I just don't understand, why would she kill herself?"

"Why indeed?"

It was three pm when they got back to the hotel. "Folk around here certainly know how to keep a secret."

"I'll agree with that one, tomorrow, the hall, public records may hold some of the answers to this mystery, and then the library. No partying Peri, we've got to be up early."

Peri grinned. "Party, I wish."

* * *

Peri woke at six the next morning and went to wake the Doctor. He was tossing and turning. Peri shook him. He sat up suddenly. "You were talking in your sleep." He nodded sleepily.

"I was dreaming."

"It's an earthling thing, you should get used to it. Can I ask you a question?"

"Uh-huh."

"How come you believe all this, you know, paranormal stuff. I thought you'd be running around trying tah find some scientific explanation."

"Perpugilliam Brown, just because I'm not an earthling doesn't mean I don't believe in spirituality. Even on Gallifrey – my homeworld – there have been unexplained incidents that are regarded as paranormal. And I should know the power of the spirit or at least of the will of the departed. The physical is not always all that exists, you should think beyond the material."

Peri nodded. "Sometimes you're creepy, you know that, right?"

"Uh-huh."

* * *

Peri sat in the hall, now long out of use and filled with books and public records of all sorts, a large dusty book clutched in her hands. The Doctor was looking through some shelves. "You know, I thought she would have been rich, but this here says that her family was quite poor actually. That stone angel and all, they must have spent a lot of money on that. It's odd, you know."

The Doctor shook his head. "Earthlings are strange creatures. Sometimes I am at a loss to understand them."

Peri smiled, sure he was.

* * *

Peri had fallen asleep. They had looked at so many books already that she was going to be having nightmares about books chasing her. She had closed her eyes, that was all, but now she had fallen asleep. She had slept for five hours when the Doctor woke her. It was five pm. It would be dark soon. "Peri, wake up. I've got it. I know the secret. We have to go there, to the cemetery on the hill."

Peri shook her head. "It's getting dark."

"We have to go tonight. Tomorrow will be too late."

"Don't be silly."

"It's when she killed herself, just as the sun crossed the water. We have to go tonight, before she starts killing people."

Peri stood up. "But what about us? Won't she be mad at us?"

"We can help her. We know her secret. She won't hurt us, I don't think.

Peri nodded. "If we die it's on you."

The Doctor nodded. "It's on me."

* * *

Outside a violent storm had blown up, lightening flashed all around and thunder roared in the clouds. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. What if she doesn't want to stop? What if she doesn't care that we know?"

"She cares. She needs us, we know the truth."

"You know the truth. You still haven't told me."

The Doctor turned to her. "I didn't, did I?"

"And?"

"It was when she was ten. She was raped and she had a baby. She wasn't angry about the rape though because she had forgiven the boy who had done it. He was the son of the local doctor. The whole village knew what had happened, but they didn't care. Her parents didn't support the local church, see, they were of another faith. Because of this people didn't like the Alekson's. Anyway, moving along. When her son was about four he got sick, and Chanella took him to see the doctor. The doctor refused to help her baby, he said the last time he had helped her family they hadn't paid him, and he wouldn't help them again. Chanella got angry, said he didn't seem to mind if the other families got late in payment. The doctor had her taken out, put her out in the rain with a sick child. So she started screaming about how the boy was his grandson and that he must have had no heart. How could he do this to his own family. Then she threatened that she would demand that his son marry her if he did not treat the baby. Said she would go to the city, where her parents knew some clever people, people with influence, so the doctor had no choice but to treat her child. He let them back in and gave them some medicine. But later when she gave it to her child he died, it had been poison. She killed herself the next morning, said she couldn't live without her baby."

"But that's horrible."

"That's earthling's for you."

All the time they had been talking they had been walking, now they had reached the cemetery on the hill. Peri stopped. "Do we really have to go in?"

"We do, I'm afraid." Peri nodded and took calming breaths.

"Let's do this thing!" The Doctor took her hand and they stepped through the gates, into the cemetery grounds. The cemetery was filled with a strange half light and mist swept about their shoes. Peri shivered. "This place gives me the creeps."

"You and me both."

The angel was not far now. Peri screamed, something had caught her ankle in an icy grip. She looked down, dead hands had come out of the earth and taken hold of her. She screamed. "Doctor, help me!" The Doctor tried to pull her away but the hands wouldn't let go. Other figures emerged from the mist like ghosts. They were dead, dead bodies. "No!"

"LEAVE HER!"

The Doctor turned to face the statue. "No! NO! Doctor, don't leave me!" She tried to hold onto his hands but he moved away from her as if in a trance. "Come back. Please come back." She was surrounded by dead figures now. "Doctor! DOCTOR!"

"You know my secret, old one?"

"I do."

"Then you know that I am justified, know what I must do to prevent the evil from spreading?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Evil? Don't you see, you are the one who is making the evil, you are the one who is taking all those poor innocent lives. It is no longer that doctor, no longer your baby. It is you. You who has taken all those children from their mothers and fathers. You have done that."

The eerie voice laughed now and a figure stepped from around the angel statue. Chanella was no longer pretty. "It was not I. It was them, they started it."

"And you have to end it. You must see what you are doing, see that it is wrong. It has to stop, Chanella, I know now, and I promise to you, they'll all know. I will tell them all, tell them what that horrid man did, but now you have to stop. Look to your heart, this isn't you. This isn't you Chanella, you must stop!"

Chanella laughed. "This is me! This hate inside is me. I hate them, hate them all. They will all die. Look!" She pointed down the hill, to the hotel. There was a sudden flash of lightening and the building caught fire. Chanella was laughing all the while, fire in her eyes.

"Chanella, no! Stop this. I command you to stop this. Has there not been enough death, enough sadness and hatred? Have you not suffered enough. I do not wish to punish you, but you not only punish yourself by doing this, you punish those innocent people too. The doctor is dead, you know this, your quarrel is over."

Chanella shook her head. "Oh but it is not. It is just beginning. Innocent? Old one, you are foolish. They are not innocent. They knew, they watched, they didn't stop him. Nobody stopped him. Now I will stop them!"

"CHANELLA! LISTEN TO ME! THIS IS NOT WHAT JOSH WOULD HAVE WANTED. HE WOULD HAVE WANTED YOU TO BE AT PEACE. HE WOULD NOT WANT HIS MOTHER TO DO THESE THINGS, TO KILL ALL THESE PEOPLE, TO CAUSE ALL THIS HURT AND SUFFERING. HE LOVED YOU VERY MUCH BUT HE HAD TO LEAVE YOU. HE DID NOT WISH YOU TO BECOME THIS."

Chanella screamed. "I will not hear it! You cannot know that!"

"I do! I know this, for this is the heart. Josh would want you to love, not hate. He would want you to love others, just as you loved him. Now please, stop! Stop, Chanella, it's over!"

Chanella fell to the ground. "WHY? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME JOSH? Why would you do that? Why would you leave me all al…" Her voice trailed off into the distance. The mist was clearing. Her body seemed to sink back beneath the soil. Then the sky opened up and poured out all the sorrows of the heavens. Peri stood up and ran over to the Doctor.

"Is she gone?"

"She's gone."

They walked back into the village through the pouring rain. When they reached the hotel it was burnt to the ground. Nelly stood staring at the charred remains of her home. She turned to face them. "Thank you for what you did." She stared at her feet and then looked up. "You're soaking, both of you." She grabbed their hands. "Come on, let's get out of the rain."

* * *

They stayed at the Post Office that night and the next day the train would come to pick them up. Chanella's story was told, and Nelly decided to write a book about it, she said she would dedicate it to her brother.

It was a sunny afternoon when the Doctor and Peri caught the train, they had spent most of the morning wandering around the woods and the Doctor was thoroughly bored of Peri knowing so much and him knowing so little. The train ride seemed to pass in no time at all, mainly because Peri was talking so much, and now had become very interested in Philosophy. Soon they were back were they had started. Peri laughed. "That's silly. This is where we started."

"It is, yes. What's silly about that?"

"Cos it's also where we ended. The start is actually the end and the end is actually the start."

"Peri, stop, philosophy's just not your thing." Peri tossed her head and headed off towards the TARDIS. The Doctor took her arm. "Uh-Uh. I think you forgot something."

Peri frowned. "No. No, I didn't."

The Doctor nodded towards the kiosk. "Ice-cream."

Peri laughed. "Oh, yeah. I want vanilla." She bounded off towards the kiosk.


End file.
